The present invention relates to a texturing machine for processing a plurality of synthetic filament yarns to produce a composite yarn.
It is known to use texturing machines of this type for producing a composite yarn from two false twist textured yarns. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,883 discloses a yarn false twist texturing machine wherein a feed unit withdraws each yarn from a creeled yarn package and supplies it to downstream processing units, such as, for example, a heater, a cooling device, a plurality of texturing units, and a plurality of feed units. Also, the yarns are combined and wound at the end of the process as a composite yarn. In this case, the composite yarn is formed by two crimped yarns, which receive a substantially identical treatment.
It is also possible to produce a composite yarn from two different synthetic filament yarns, as is known, for example, from EP 0 364 874 A1 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,992. Such composite yarns, also known as so-called novelty yarns, require a different yarn feed, since a portion of the processing units is needed only for processing one of the yarns and a portion of the processing units for processing both yarns or the composite yarn.
Irrespective of the processing of the yarns, it is common in the production of a composite yarn to withdraw the individual yarns each from a creeled yarn package by means of a feed unit. To realize the different yarn paths, for example, for advancing the yarns jointly through a heater, or for advancing one of the yarns outside of the heater, the conventional texturing machine requires additional yarn guides, which in turn produce additional yarn loopings and thus yarn frictions.
It is an object of the present invention to further develop a standard yarn processing machine of the initially described type in such a manner that it always enables a protective advance of the individual yarns irrespective of the yarn type of the composite yarn.